Beautiful
by Ash4
Summary: Vaughn has a field mission. (And if you’ve read my other fic, you know I had to throw Will in here too. :) )


Title: Beautiful  
  
Author: Ash (AshletX512@aol.com)  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Vaughn has a field mission. (And if you've read my other fic, you know I had to throw Will in here too. ( )  
  
Spoilers: nothing specific  
  
Disclaimer: Characters property of JJ Abrams. Don't sue.  
  
Author's Notes: I wanted to write a piece where Vaughn and Will meet, but they don't fight or hate each other like I've seen in other fics. This is a standalone, but I can continue with this thought if I get good reviews (hint hint).  
  
~~~  
  
I don't think I've ever seen her look more beautiful. No wigs, no costume, no bozo hair, no alias. She's just Sydney Bristow. Her brown hair is tied back into a bun to reveal the low back of the otherwise plain lavender bridesmaid dress. She looks happy and carefree, worrying about nothing. Right now, it's my job to worry for her.  
  
I was called into the office today, a bright and sunny Saturday. I thought it unusual to hear my phone ring, because there should have been nothing to be 'handled.' Sydney was not on a mission and had made sure that she had gotten this weekend off. There was an intel sent to SD-6 that we intercepted on a clue concerning the location of new much-wanted chemical that could be used to exterminate enemies of SD-6 a mile away, undetected. We even had the counter-mission lined up, but she demanded to Sloane that it could wait, she had a wedding to attend.  
  
I admired her persistence when she told me how her boss had eventually given in and postponed the mission a week. She was practically jumping for joy when she told in the warehouse Thursday night. She even invited me as her date but understood when I reminded her that I couldn't. It would have been too risky to accompany her, as I wished I could, plus as I am constantly reminded of by my superiors, it is "not in the best interest of the agency for me to grow emotionally attached. Too late.  
  
Yet here I am. I watched her weep through the ceremony but could not wipe away her tears. I followed the convoy to the reception and watched as she danced with almost every man at the party. But could not lead her to the dance floor myself. Nonetheless, she looks genuinely happy and I'm glad I'm here protecting her instead of watching cartoons or washing my car.  
  
-  
  
8:36 AM  
  
CIA Headquarters, Los Angeles  
  
"Agent Vaughn, thank you for coming in so early." Devlin addressed me. "We have been alerted of some disturbing news. It seems Anna Espinosa may be in LA and is said to be after Agent Bristow. We need to alert her of this right away."  
  
"We can't do that, sir." I tell him, regretting my dogmatic tone as soon as the words escape my lips. He shoots me the worst look and I feel like I'm stranded in the middle of a frozen lake on thin ice.  
  
"And why's that?" Devlin questions of my demand.  
  
"It's just that she's in her best friend's wedding today. I wouldn't want to worry her if we are not certain. That this is a problem."  
  
"So your agent's peace of mind is more important than her life?"  
  
"Of course not, sir, but I may have another way…"  
  
-  
  
Here I sit in the catering van outside the wedding reception in Sydney's backyard. I don't think she has any indication that the simple white van can possibly hold close to $20,000 in government issue monitoring equipment. A brilliant idea if you ask me. Protection by her handler without her worrying or knowing that anything is amiss. I have four agents on the premises, making sure she is safe. If all goes well, Sydney will not even know we were here, if Anna shows or not.  
  
I attend Francie's wedding vicariously through the 25 video cameras we have stationed in and around the house. The only thing better than this would be actually be the man who has Sydney on her arm now. He leads her over to the backyard porch to a comfortable looking plastic loveseat. She had long ditched the lavender heels that matched the dress, but still stumbles over her own feet. Sydney's escort catches her before she falls and she giggles loudly. She's drunk.  
  
The last of the guests have left but this man remains. I guess that he must be the journalist, Will, that she has mentioned before. He helps her sit gently in the chair and plops down beside her.  
  
The sit under one of our microphones and I can here everything they say.  
  
"Will, this will be the third bridesmaid dress in my closet. Do you think I'll ever be the one wearing white?" She asks him, staring dreamily into space. Her words are slightly slurred, but her point is clear.  
  
"I would lose all face in this earth if a great girl like you couldn't find a man to love." I like him. We share the same idea on Sydney.  
  
She's satisfied with his answer and rests her head on his shoulder. I'm suddenly jealous of him. He can just lounge around with her and talk about weddings without worrying if she will be killed or tortured by a foreign evil.  
  
I suddenly feel like a peeping tom and turn off the sound as he starts telling Sydney how great she is. I'm curious as to how far their relationship goes, but it's not my job to do that.  
  
I can see that he is babbling now and he stops to see how she feels about what she said. He just smiles when he notices she has fallen asleep, or rather passed out, on his shoulder.  
  
Will stands up gently and lays Sydney's head down on the furniture to let her sleep. He starts to clean up the mess the other guests left, but obviously having too much to drink himself, tips over and falls into a nearby houseplant. Unfortunately, it is one of the places our cameras are hidden and I lose the signal.  
  
"Shit." I mutter as the monitor connected to that camera turns to fuzz. Weiss has gone down the road for coffee, so if we are going to fix this camera, I'll have to do it myself. I grab a replacement camera and put it in the black slacks of the caterer's uniform.  
  
I saunter over to the patio are casually. Will is stumbling around, still trying to be helpful by cleaning up. I join him, putting half empty glasses of wine and champagne into a larger busser's tray. "I can cover this, you don't have to help." I tell him, hoping he gets the hint to go away. If he does I can fix the camera in a second and be back in the comfort of the van.  
  
"I don't mind." he tells me. I'm glad he's a nice guy, but right now I wish he wasn't so considerate.  
  
"Really," I say "it's not necessary for the guests to help." I try my best not to sound rude. Sydney has made it clear that she wants to be my friend after we take SD-6 down, and I realize that I will have to be accepted into her groups of friends. Looking like an ass as a first impression is not what I have in mind. But I think he's even too drunk to notice. And I don't think he'll remember as a caterer anyway.  
  
"I know, but I don't want our hostess to wake up to this mess."  
  
As if she heard us, Sydney starts to quietly moan and squirm in her sleep. I wonder how often she is plagued by nightmares. I fight the urge to run to her side and assure her she is safe. Will noticeably does too.  
  
"She's even more beautiful when she's asleep." Will remarks, noticing I am staring at her as well. I quickly look away and busy myself by finishing cleaning off the table, but he continues to watch her. She stops moving, but I can hear that her breathing is heavy. I take this time to return the fallen houseplant to its original position, simultaneously switching the broken camera for the one in my pocket.  
  
I turn back to see if Will noticed the switch, but he's still watching her, worriedly. I'm glad she's got such a great friend.  
  
"She is. Take care of her." I tell him as I leave. He nods absently, too far lost in his own world to even realize I said something.  
  
Back at the van I find that Weiss has returned. I'm ready to present my explanation for risking blowing our cover to Sydney, but he starts talking before I can. "Devlin called. New info shows there's no need to be here any longer. We're leaving." I nod and look at the video monitor to see that Sydney is now awake. It's a good thing I got out of there when I did or she might have spotted me. Weiss continues. "You can call your maid of honor and set up a meeting with her later. We'll need to extract all the video cameras and it'll be much easier if we can do it with her knowledge."  
  
Not wasting any time, I pull out my untraceable CIA-issue cell phone and dial her number. I watch as she hears it ring and runs inside. "Hello?" she answers and I regret calling her so soon when I hear the traces of a hangover in her voice.  
  
"Joey's Pizza?" I ask, like I've done so many times before.  
  
"Wrong number."  
  
  
  
~~Two hours later~~  
  
I watch as she saunters into the warehouse, yawning widely as she walks. "I thought I had the day off." She half states and half questions.  
  
"You did, more than you know." She appears confused by this, and I expected she would be. I love seeing that look on her. I explain. "There was an intel out that Anna Espinosa was in LA and out to get you, and Devlin wanted you to be alerted and ready, but we sent in a team for your protection. I didn't want to ruin your day off."  
  
She smiles. "How considerate. So what happened?"  
  
"Absolutely nothing. But your safety was our main concern. We'll need to retrieve the cameras we placed around your house, so expect an electrician to 'do some work' tomorrow morning."  
  
She nods. "Aren't you going to ask how the wedding went?"  
  
"Nope." I look down at my tie as if I was checking out a stain and pretend I am not interested.  
  
"I guess that's it, then." She turns and walks away.  
  
"Syd," she turns back to me and raises her eyebrow questioningly. "You make a great bridesmaid." I say flashing her big smile.  
  
"And you didn't look so bad in that caterer's uniform yourself." She smiles widely, watching my jaw drop. "Goodnight, Guardian angel." She calls over her shoulder as she leaves.  
  
~~  
  
A/N (continued): Like I said, I can continue this. I'm thinking of doing it from Sydney's POV, and maybe even Will's. I don't want to do the same exact thing over and over, but involving this scene. Should I attempt it? (Tell me in the Review) 


End file.
